The corn dog is amazing. You will not regret it. The slushes are disgusting. Only tastes like sugar water. Mushrooms and onion rings are ok. Tastes like normal packaged food. Service is great. Hard to give a rating because of the good and not so good but I'll focus on the good. Corn dog and service. read more

They gotta lotta shakes. Food is good; we always stop here at least once when we visit from out of state. read more

Short's Rootbeer Stand - Shake / Malt - Fast Food Near Me - Coldwater, Michigan

i love vanessa and stephani and michelle. they are such good workers! why is there shit in my shrimp tho???????????????? tip: pls remove the shrimps poop line im scared.! read more

See all

Love that places like this still exist. The service was great. There was so much food and drink to choose from. We got hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, and fried mushrooms. All very good while we ate inside our car. We will definitely be back! read more

Short's Rootbeer Stand - Fast Food Near Me - Coldwater, Michigan

Third year stopping by and the double cheese burger always rocks . Added some jalapeños and felt like heaven . Lunch for four . Till next year :) read more

Short's Rootbeer Stand - Double cheese burger with jalapeño ;) - Fast Food Near Me - Coldwater, Michigan

Old school carhop since 1955 with good tasty things to eat and many desserts on other side of menu. I had the bbq sloppy teddy with onion rings & root beer and it was good read more

Short's Rootbeer Stand - Bbq sloppy teddy, onion rings, & lg root beer - Fast Food Near Me - Coldwater, Michigan

No. Just no. The fries are cold. The bun on the Chicago dog is hard and stale. So disappointed. The milkshake wasn't great but it wasn't inedible like the rest was. Waste of money. read more

Depends on how busy they are. Hot dogs could be a better brand. Good variety of fast food Experience for younger kids

Kind of neat to drive up and get food in your car but 4 coney dogs, 2 small fries and two drinks come out to $30 something !? I should have went to Ponderosa. Way over priced and food mediocre. read more

Fantastic service, great menu selections. Ranch dressing made from scratch! Perfect destination. For a Sunday afternoon! read more

See all

I was pretty excited that we didn't have to drive 40+ miles into Fort Wayne for a good old fashioned root beer & a chili dog when I found Short's on Yelp. We hopped into the car on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to make our 25 mile drive to Coldwater. We arrived around 4:40pm, and was pleasantly surprised there were only 4 other cars parked under the awning. We were immediately welcomed by a young girl, who asked if we needed a menu. Since there wasn't really a "menu board" per say we took a menu to quickly scan over. She said when we were ready to just turn on our right turn signal. Alrighty then, I left my car running. We knew within minutes what we were going to order & I flipped my signal on. Two other cars rolled in, one next to us with two young boys which the blonde hop immediately went to. Cue the feral cat. We watched to see if there were any other car hops working, and noticed 2 other girls just inside the front doors with aprons. No one moved. Our hop brought food out to a vehicle to our left, walked past us and across to a waiting truck. 15 minutes have passed. At this point, I'm betting she's the only one attempting to work every car on the lot. At 5pm, my husband & I had enough of the turn signal signaling it's own annoying song and ZERO response from any of the hops hanging out together inside. I pulled out of the space, drove to the front door & hubby went to lay the menu on the bench so we could leave. The blonde walks out the door like we've done something wrong. My husband hands her the menu, to which she responds, "You didn't have your turn signal on" . My husband told her that she walked by our car 2 times WHILE the turn signal was blinking and we have waited 20 minutes WITH IT BLINKING to order. With that, we left. Seriously, it's SUNDAY. Management better get their shit together & teach these kids what good customer service is. This is a complete reflection on the management. Sadly, this girl lost a nice fat tip...we are NOT the normal tipper! We won't ever return. We looked forward to a new place to go for a Sunday Drive. read more

The hot dog was fresh, the French fries were good, the historic root beer stand was neat. The service was poor and the car hop didn't bring our change back until I asked about it... read more

Short's Rootbeer Stand - Coney - Fast Food Near Me - Coldwater, Michigan

See all

Retro-style drive-in with car hops. Definitely try: 10 piece chicken wings (surprisingly amazing; make sure you ask for a cup of ranch with it) Coney dog Sloppy Teddy sandwich (basically a huge sloppy joe) Homemade root beer Onion rings read more

See all

Ordered a brat and a corn dog with onion rings, The brat seemed and tasted like it was warmed in water then thrown in a bun that just pulled out of the bag then put in a foam container. We asked for mustard on the corn dog and they forgot. Took us another 5 minutes with the turn signal on before we finally got our mustard. The onion rings were post warmed. (Cooked earlier then re-warmed). If you like to look at young ladies in short shorts serving food, this is your place. If you want to eat food, run. Not coming back. read more

We discovered this place while looking up restaurants on Google. My mom and I try to keep an eye out for different places that aren't the usual like Wendy's or Taco Bell so we were very excited when we found Short's Root Beer Stand. When we got here a very nice kid came up and gave us menus, and was very nice and explained what potato logs were (think like potato wedges, but they're a lot bigger, better, well seasoned, and tastier). Honestly when I first saw them I didnt think I would like them because I'm a pretty picky eater, but they're absolutely delicious! A really nice lady brought out our food. We got a chili dog, the sloppy teddy, potato logs, and supreme potato logs. The staff are all really nice and friendly and the food is amazing. I really liked the sloppy teddy, it's a scrumptious take on a sloppy joe. Mom enjoyed her potatoes and chili dog. We'll definitely be back with more money next time so we can try even more stuff, there were so many things on the menu we wanted to try that we'll definitely have to come back a lot! Thanks for the wonderful experience :D read more

Short's Rootbeer Stand - Half of my potato log order because I forgot to take a pic before diving in - Fast Food Near Me - Coldwater, Michigan

I've driven, walked, and rode my bike past Short's Root Beer Stand several times in the month I've lived in Coldwater and it is always packed, so naturally I thought this would be a great date night outing with my man. We pull into the lot and search for a spot, it's a Friday night and the place is hopping. We get parked and start browsing the menus. We were both pleasantly surprised, and overwhelmed, by the size of the menu. We didn't have to wait long for service, the car hop was very sweet and patient with us. My man ordered the Clam basket, a Chili dog, and a side of potato logs (he has a very fast metabolism) while I ordered the cheese burger with lettuce, tomato, ketchup and mustard. While we waited we were crop dusted with the potent scent of marijuana and greasy food. We ordered our food to go so he quickly checked it over, after confirming everything was there, we made our way back home with our bounty. After a short 3 minute drive we go to dig into what we think is going to be a fun throwback meal... throwback is right, I now know where High School Cafeteria ladies work during the summer months - the fries were the biggest giveaway. My man mentioned something about the clams being partially cooked while also having the sensation of crunching on fingernails, the hotdog was cold and the chili looked like ground dog food, and the potato logs were basically lukewarm steak fries. From the first bite of my burger my appetite was gone, straight "See ya later!" ‍ I admire the iron stomachs and dead taste buds the patrons of this establishment appear to have. There are many options for tasty food in Coldwater, this is not one of them. The service was friendly though, cheers to you ladies y'all are the real heroes! read more

Had the best grilled ham & cheese, fries and coleslaw. Great service! Very nice and quite busy

This is a great hidden gem! Huge menu and amazing food. Also, a great area for antiquing if you're not at Bundy Hill read more

Short's Rootbeer Stand - Best small town spot with the best food ever! - Fast Food Near Me - Coldwater, Michigan

We just got home from Shorts Rootbeer Stand where we ordered 2 coney dogs and a small chocolate malt. We thought $14.+ was kinda expensive just for that. The hotdog buns were so soggy we could barely get them out of the container, we did not sit there to eat them or I would have definitely let them know. Will not be going back there. read more

Meh. While Shorts has some good points, like the fries and the coneys. Some of the other menu items don't hold up. The tenderloin is served swimming in Mayo and the Chicago Dog was iced cold. Give it a try for nostalgia, but don't expect much. read more

Not many places like this around. The owners are absolutely amazing and thats one of the many reasons there staff is also wonderful. The food is very reasonable on price and 10/10 on the taste. After a long day its the perfect place to take your better half or even the kids 5/5 stars for me. read more

I was very disappointed in my visit here today. Our waitress seemed to be annoyed by everything and had a bad attitude. We ordered a root beer float, a sundae, and a kids vanilla ice cream in a cup. It seemed to take a very long time to come out to us after we ordered. There was really no reason for the long wait when it wasn't busy and we ordered ice cream and they use soft serve. When it finally came out it was pretty disappointing. My husband's root beer came out in a styrofoam cup when he thought it would be one of the frosted mugs. The hot fudge on my sundae looked disgusting and wasn't hot at all. When I commented on this to the served she replied with saying that they were almost out, which isn't really a good reason to serve clumpy, cold "hot" fudge. I also posted a picture of my not so "hot" fudge. read more

Short's Rootbeer Stand - Not so "hot" fudge. - Fast Food Near Me - Coldwater, Michigan

Very friendly staff. Always great HOT food. Their floats are absolutely A-Mazing!!!

Stopped in to get some Ice Cream and Root Beer. Sooooo good. Definitely the best place to get ice cream in Coldwater.

My and i were craving chili cheese dogs. We went to Shorts Root Beer Stand. The service was great, the music, the whole ambiance was great. The root beer was cold and satisfying, but the chili cheese dog was terrible and the onion rings had no flavor. read more

Dad wanted a sloppy Teddy. He said there was nothing sloppy about it. Dry and tasted burnt! One bite and the rest went in the trash. They changed their fried mushrooms. Now they taste like garlic and are more mushier. Not a fan. Dad and I decided to try their boneless wings. We received bone-in wings. And to top it off, they asked what sauce we wanted? So I asked what they have: Ketchup, Mustard, Honey, BBQ Sauce and Tobasco sauce. I'm not kidding! What kind of place sells wings without hot wing sauce? read more

Coldwater, Michigan --- A "Run-A-Way Bill" Favorite! not hungry or thirsty, but had to "experience" the roadside Food Drive-In to go along with my Movie Drive-In, so I ordered a Fudge Brownie milkshake Went inside vs having car-hop delivery (next time ... I gotta get the window-hanging tray "experience" too The staff was pleasant & courteous, the atmosphere was nostalgic with soda fountain counter & 50's music playing, plus my milk shake was thick enough to collapse my straw on each sip ,. "Run-A-Way Bill" was here! pARTy Reptile (.com) 09/12/15 read more

See all

I am sorry that the other people that came here had a bed experience but I am here to tell you give it a try... We got a double cheeseburger basket in a Orange cream Shake... My partner in crime got the corn dog basket and a root beer float... Everything was absolutely delicious they are busy but they took our order right away...it took about 20 minutes to get our food but it was delicious, it was hot and it was fresh. The fries were nice and hot and crunchy... The car hops were very friendly and very helpful I greatly in enjoyed my trip and glad I didn't listen to the other reviews. read more

I'm not sure what has happened since Ted & Amy Short took over but in all honesty the food went down 99 notches. The burgers were textured like they were bought frozen & don't even get me started on the hotdogs. Bleh read more

The Absolute worst experience we have ever had... not once BUT twice!! We went about a month ago, waited over 25 mins & even moved to a closer parking spot by the door... still no one waited on us. A car pulled in right beside us & the girl came out & went right to them! I let the waitress know our situation & we left. I called in & spoke to the Mgr. She stated they were short on help. My husband refused to go back but I was able to talk him into 1 more time tonight.... BIG MISTAKE!!! The exact same thing happened AGAIN!! This time we even put our blinker on, which is what you're supposed to do if you need service... we just wanted to get waited on!! We sat there for 15 mins watching girls walk by & take everyone's orders but ours!! This will be our last time going there... NO EXCUSE for this horrible service... not once but twice!! I will definitely share our experience! read more

This was a great place to eat! The food was very good, the root beer as well! They have 51 different flavors of shakes to choose from, I got the Irish Mint shake my wife got the Hot Fudge shake, both were very tasty! If you are ever in Coldwater, MI. and looking for a place to eat at, this is a must!!! read more

Short's Rootbeer Stand - Fast Food Near Me - Coldwater, Michigan

Good onion rings, coleslaw, and service. The hotdogs could be better quality. An all beef or Hebrew National would be better.

The younger girl that waited on us was wonderful! Polite and was kind enough to walk us through how everything worked. Seeing as it was our first time. The food was better than expected. We had fried pickles (4 out of 5 stars), chili cheese hotdogs (3 out of 5 stars) and rootbeers. We will definitely return. read more

Stopped on the way to Chicago for a quick bite. Horrible. Waited 32 minutes for food after ordering. The fellow who took our order was a jerk-perhaps he was having a bad day. The girl who was trying to help us couldn't have been nicer. When food was finally delivered shake was melted and all food-not just hot dog- was ice cold. Disappointing waste of 40 minutes and no food. read more

Traveling and decided to stop here for dinner. So glad we did! We loved the old school feeling and food was great.

AMAZING place to take a break from the millennium! Food and service are sweetly stuck in the 50's at this very retro root beer stand - A true delight to dine there! read more

This is an old fashioned root beer drive-in where you eat in your car. The service was great, the girls came out as soon as we turned our lights on. The good came out fast and hot. The root beers in the frosty mugs were ice cold!! We ordered the patty melt, chili dog and fries and everything was yummy. read more

We were just passing through and had too stop looked like a fun place , great service ok food for a old school drive in has a lot of character,if your in the area I would say to stop and try it what do you have to lose , good luck to the owners ! read more

Short's Rootbeer Stand - Fast Food Near Me - Coldwater, Michigan

See all

Stopped in for a quick bite before a swim meet at the local high school. Service was quick and friendly. Pops had the fish sandwich which was two pieces of what seemed to be fresh fish and he said was very good (note anything he doesn't cook for himself is very good LOL) and I had the BLT. The BLT was good, typical diner style. We also shared some onion rings which were very good. The only downfall was the bees, otherwise this was a great experience read more

A drive-in with car hops, frosty mugs with root beer and a Chicago Style Hot dog. What more can I say. We go here every year when we are on vacation in Colon, Mi. read more